TNAG-2144-FCO40-3063-Hong-Kong-Port-and-Airport-Development-Strategy-(PADS)-1990 — Page 139

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186

177520

MDHIAN 6005

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FM BTC HONG KONG

TO IMMEDIATE DTI

TELNO OTTER 241

OF 241121Z OCTOBER 90

AND TO PRIORITY FCO

INFO ROUTINE PEKING, TOKYO

FiveS

HKCC 18212

O NOV 1990

W

TOP COPY Q DIST?

FOR GALLAGHER PEP

37

YRTELNO OTTER 282: HONG KONG AIRPORT PROJECT

1 I DOUBT THAT YOU ARE MISSING ANY OF OUR TELEGRAMS ALTHOUGH I

WILL HAVE A CHECK LIST TELEGRAPHED TO YOU. I HAVE MADE FEW COMMENTS ON RECENT DEVELOPMENTS, LARGELY BECAUSE THE GOVERNOR AND HONG KONG GOVERNMENT HAVE BEEN REPORTING THEM (WHICH THEN RAISES MY FREQUENT DIFFICULTY OF KNOWING TO WHAT EXTENT I SHOULD OFFER ADDITIONAL OR DIFFERING COMMENTS) AND BECAUSE I UNDERSTAND THERE WERE EXCHANGES BETWEEN THE FCO AND THE HKG (EG ON THE DECISION TO CHANGE THE FUNDING METHOD FOR THE BRIDGE) WHICH I DID NOT SEE.

2. THE FOLLOWING HOWEVER SUMMARISES RECENT DEVELOPMENTS.

BIDS BY ANGLO JAPANESE CONSTRUCTION (AJC).

3. SINCE MY TELNO 334 MICHAEL ADAMS OF AJC HAS ASKED ME FOR MY

VIEWS ON THE PAPERS WHICH HE SENT ME DESCRIBED IN THAT TELEGRAM.

I TOLD HIM THAT I HAD SUGGESTED TO THE DTI THAT IN MY VIEW THE GROUP WOULD DO BEST NOT TO PROCEED WITH THE PRE-EMPTIVE BID FOR THE AIRPORT PLATFORM IN THE FACE OF THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT'S

URGINGS. ADAMS SAID HE AGREED WITH THIS ALTHOUGH IT WAS A GREAT PITY IN VIEW OF THE COSTLY WORK DONE ON A PRE-EMPTIVE BID, LARGELY BY COSTAINS.

4. I ASKED WHERE MATTERS STOOD BETWEEN TRAFALGAR HOUSE/COSTAIN

AND THE JAPANESE SINCE I HAD BEEN GETTING CONFLICTING SIGNALS. I TOLD HIM THAT BENJAMIN OF C ITOH HAD TELEPHONED THIS WEEK ASKING ME TO SEE ONE OF THEIR EXECUTIVES, TSUJI, WHO WILL BE HERE 26 - 28 OCTOBER. THEY STILL SEEMED TO THINK THAT THEY RATHER THAN MITSUI WERE LEADING THE JAPANESE TEAM. MICHAEL ADAMS TOLD ME THAT THE RECENT MEETING IN LONDON BETWEEN TRAFALGAR HOUSE/COSTAIN AND THEIR JAPANESE PARTNERS HAD BEEN INCONCLUSIVE. THE JAPANESE GROUPS CONSISTING OF MITSUI, C ITOH, MHI, IHI, NSC AND NKK, HAD TAKEN THE LINE THAT THE HONG KONG GOVERNMENT'S PRONOUNCEMENT THAT

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